Twins are Twice as Nice
by Kitty O
Summary: The twins want to meet their mysterious, apparently crazy Aunt Morgana. Which is not allowed, and therefore will involve some sneaking around. AU after season 3. Future!Fic oneshot series. Order of series: A Normal Day in Camelot, Twins are Twice as Nice, A Mother's Tears, Warlock Takes a Wife, A Royal Favor


_A/N: These characters are introduced in _A Normal Day in Camelot_, my earlier one-shot. You might want to read that first, but it is not necessary. Only S2 spoilers, but can work with S3 knowledge too. _

_Who do you think Merlin's wife should be? I'm open to suggestions here. Should it be someone new, someone I've introduced in another story or what? Next one shot, I plan on introducing her, so…_

_My plan: I'm going to write a few one-shots so I can introduce all the characters. Lexi, you know, had her one-shot (and despite my mess-up in the previous story, she is NEVER called Alex). Now for Tom and Uther. Next will be Hunith. _

Twins are Twice as Nice

Uther groaned and shifted in his bed as something hit his face. "Go away," he grumbled. "Lemme sleep…"

_Phomp! _Something soft slapped into his head again.

"I don't want to get up," moaned the sleeping child. "Five minutes?"

_Phomp! _

"Alright! I'll get up…" Uther yawned. "In just one minute..."

_PHOMP! _

"Okay!" hollered poor Uther, sitting up. "Okay! I'm up, I'm up, you twit!" Uther glared angrily at his twin, Tom, who sat upon his bed.

"About time you got up," said Tom, the older by five minutes.

"What's the emergency?" asked Uther.

"I'm bored."

Uther considered throwing his brother off the bed, but thought better of it. If he tried, Tom would jump up and pummel Uther, the weaker of the two boys.

"I'm sorry you're bored," he grumbled. "Go play with Chloe."

"Nah, Chloe's doing girl stuff with Lexi," said Tom, who closely resembled his namesake with dark skin, curled hair, and an open, honest face.

"How about Will?" Uther almost pleaded. Uther had brown hair and small eyes the same shape of his uncle, Sir Elyan. But those eyes held hints of blue like Arthur's, and the rest of his face was the king's.

"He's working."

Uther sighed. Of course he was; Will was always working for someone, finding something to do. He ran errands for the Court Physician. He helped his father with hard spells. He cleaned for his mother. And when he wasn't working, he was getting into trouble. His tendency to get into 'situations', as Merlin called them, made him a horrible bother and a great friend for the two princes. Arthur had agreed that soon he could work for Uther and Tom, if only to keep him out of trouble.

The three young boys couldn't wait.

"Couldn't you go hang around Hunith or something?" asked Uther. "I want to sleep."

"She's doing icky teenage girl stuff with her friends. She doesn't want me around."

Uther groaned. "Well, what do you want to do? I was going to finish that book Father gave me today."

Tom rolled his brown eyes. "You sit around and read too much, Uther. Let's have some fun!"

Uther thought about it. "We… we could go watch Will's father work a spell. That's exciting."

"We do that all the time, Uther," whined Tom.

Uther gave up. "Okay, Tom, what do you want to do, then?"

"Let's visit Aunt Morgana," said the excitable Tom, and leapt from Uther's bed. He was dressed and ready to go.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

Aunt Morgana was insane. And that wasn't a figure of speech or an exaggeration; Morgana had actually lost her mind when she was younger. All the children in Camelot knew the story—the watered down version, but the story nonetheless.

Morgana had grown up with King Arthur, raised along side him by his father, King Uther, thus why she was called 'Aunt' Morgana by Tom and Uther. But she was different. She was magic.

In a land where magic was punishable by death and hated by the man who raised her.

In time, she grew to hate Uther and all of Camelot, even to plot its destruction with her half-sister, Morgause. But she'd bitten off more than she could chew, trying to take down Merlin, Arthur, and Uther. Morgana was horrified when all of her plans seemed to fail, unable to understand why. In those days, Merlin was not known to be a warlock. (Uther and Tom often laughed about this, wondering how someone could've missed it; it was so obvious. But their father didn't choose to explain.)

After many tries, everything began to fall apart around Morgana. She lost for good when Morgause and Mordred (the boy she practically considered a son) were killed trying to take Camelot.

And so she was insane. Kind-hearted Arthur and Merlin just couldn't kick her out of the castle or execute her, so she wandered around, occasionally to be found in her old rooms but generally sticking to the highest, coldest part of the castle and talking to people that were not there. Every once in a while she'd storm down and say she was taking over, but she'd forget again in a few minutes and walk away, speaking to Gwen, her maid... or so she thought.

The story, of course, was missing several pieces, as it jumped from death to insanity, but no adult would go into the missing parts. No child asked. The story served its purpose, taught its moral: Don't defy the king; don't betray your friends. For castle kids, it had a different lesson: Stay away from Aunt Morgana.

But Tom's plan was to do exactly the opposite.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

"Tom, we would get in so much trouble if Father…"

"Stop being such a crybaby! Why must you bring Father into everything?"

"He's older than we are."

"So?"

"So, obviously, he's smart enough to survive that long. And we should listen to him."

"Aw, it's just luck."

Uther ducked and managed to avoid the absentminded swipe from his brother. They were in the hallways, hiding their small bodies behind a pillar, waiting for the chance to sneak up to the highest part of the castle. Now, the hall was filled with servants walking to and fro, carrying things, and always subconsciously on the lookout for misbehaving little princes.

They tried to wait in silence for their chance.

"You know, I once asked Merlin why we weren't to look for Aunt Morgana," started Uther. "You know what he said?"

"No, and I don't care. SHH!"

"He said she was still sort of dangerous, though he took are to make sure she'd never see or bother us so long as we didn't approach her or something. I bet he used magic, but we're about to break the enchantment…"

"Uther, shut up. Stop acting like a girl."

Uther shut up, because heavens forbid he should use the same words as the weaker yet sometimes smarter sex.

After four seconds, he tried again. "Tom, why do you need me? I'll slow you down."

Tom rolled his dark eyes. "As if I could do anything without you! You are the smart one, you know, Uther, and so we're in this together."

These words were sufficient to swell Uther's head for a few seconds—and so Tom won that argument.

"Here's our chance!" exclaimed Tom suddenly, grabbing his brother's hand and running for the stairs to the next level of the castle. No one spotted or hindered them, though Uther prayed for it.

And they continued this pattern – hiding, bickering, Tom winning, scurrying for the next hiding place – all the way up the castle. Once they passed Merlin himself, and Uther tried to shout out in his mind.

_Court Sorcerer! Merlin! Uncle Merlin, whatever, please hear me!_

But it seemed that mind-speaking only worked if you had magic. More's the pity.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

"Merlin, have you seen Tom or Uther?"

Merlin looked up from his spell book. "Who?"

Arthur rolled his eyes. "The twins. Have you seen them?"

Merlin thought. "No, not this morning. Why?"

"Are you sure?"

Reaching up, Merlin raked his hand through his dark hair, beginning to be streaked with a distinguished gray. "Yes, positive. They missing? Hold on… _Hunith!_"

There was a crash in the other room, the kitchen. After a muffled curse, a pretty teenage girl with Merlin's dark, straight hair and his pale blue eyes peeked into the room.

"Nothing big or important," she assured him. "You just startled Will. What is it?"

Merlin seemed unconcerned by the fact that his son had broken something. He gestured to Arthur as he replied, "Have you seen Uther or Tom today?"

"Me? No, sir, I've been with my friends all day. Hello, Your Majesty. How is your day?" she added with a graceful curtsy.

"Been better," said Arthur. "I'm missing my sons. They didn't join us for breakfast and they aren't in their room. I'm missing a meeting right now, too."

Merlin shot him a quizzical look, and Arthur read his mind. "Gwen is busy with Chloe. She's feeling poorly."

Merlin nodded as though the King's family fell apart like this every day. "Hunith, ask Will if he knows."

Hunith nodded, and disappeared. A few seconds later Will, a boy about the twins' age and the spitting image of his mother, appeared at the doorway.

Will said, "Tom and Uther are missing?" Then he spotted the King and gave a perfunctory bow.

"Yes, do you know where they are?" asked Arthur.

Will thought, popping his finger in his mouth.

"Will, your finger is bleeding," said Merlin suddenly.

Will looked surprised, but then his eyes flashed gold and he pulled his finger from his mouth. "No, it isn't."

Merlin opened his mouth to tell Will that he had seen that, but the small boy cut him off.

"I can only think of one place they could be," he said.

"Where?"

"Well, Your Majesty, yesterday Tom kept going on about Aunt Morgana; you know no one ever sees her, and he got it in his head that she could tell him the part of her story that was missing…"

Arthur went a little pale. "They didn't."

"I think so."

"Merlin, come on, maybe we can catch them before they get there!"

Merlin nodded and leapt to his feet as Arthur ran out the room. The warlock kissed his son on the head swiftly, ordered him to tell his mother where he was if she asked, but to leave out the part about Morgana. Then he too was gone, out the door, leaving his book open on his chair.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

"Aunt Morgana?" sang Tom tentatively, and shivered.

He would never admit it to Uther, who was something of a wimp, but he was beginning to wonder about this plan. What kind of woman would live in a creepy, spider-webbed place like this? And it was freezing; unfortunately Tom wore a shirt for warm weather.

"Maybe she's not here," suggested Uther hopefully.

Tom shrugged. "I'd hate to have wasted all that time getting here." But he wouldn't mind leaving now.

"Yeah, but Tom, if she isn't here…"

"Let's wait a few minutes. Then we'll go down, if you are so keen." Tom smiled, proud of himself. He'd managed to save face, and also get out of this cold.

Uther nodded reluctantly.

Tom decided, just to make sure Uther knew he wasn't unsure of himself, that he should call out one more time. "Aunt Morgaaaaaana?" he sang.

He certainly wasn't expecting a musical voice to answer, "What?"

And suddenly the bumps on his arms had a lot less to do with the temperature.

Uther looked as though he might faint; Tom lost his voice altogether, throat dry.

A woman stepped out of the shadows and into view.

Uther, despite his timid nature, recovered first. "Aunt Morgana?"

She smiled. "Who are you?"

Her teeth were strangely straight and white, odd in a face like hers. She had obviously once been beautiful, but no longer. The lines on her forehead were deeply etched, whether from thinking or scowling was uncertain. Her whole face looked oddly white and tired, and though she wasn't old, her hair was very nearly all gray. Her eyes were a filmly blue, as though she was seeing things that no one else could.

She was creepy.

"I'm Tom," said the elder twin. "This is my brother."

She smiled again, distantly. "Tom? Nice name. I knew a Tom… He was my maid's father. Sweet man. I wonder how is these days? I must ask Gwen."

"Yes," said Tom slowly. He'd never been in contact with someone insane, and it was unsettling, to say the least.

"Who are you, then, brother of Tom?" said Morgana quietly.

"U…Uther."

Her smile faded. "Uther? No, you are too small."

Uther was bewildered. "Well, I am. I was named after my grandfather, as was Tom here…"

Suddenly she hissed; her blue eyes flashed gold, her face contorted. "Grandfathers? Then Gwen and Arthur… King Arthur now… yes, king. You are his children."

Tom and Uther's eyes widened. They did not reply.

"Yes, I see it now! I was wronged, greatly wronged by Uther! And his son! They and their twisted ideas about magic… Arthur. Silly Arthur, how dare he send his sons into my presence?"

Tom nudged Uther. "I think we should get out…"

And then he was silenced by surprise.

Morgana reached into her sleeve. "My magic was lost to me long ago, but I am not helpless," she said in a breathy whisper. From her dress, she pulled a dangerous kitchen knife.

Tom swallowed. Oh, what had he gotten them into this time?

\-_-BREAK-_-/

Merlin ran along behind Arthur. He knew that they had to get there quickly. There was no telling what Morgana would do when she discovered Uther and Tom.

"This is your fault," puffed Arthur, his hand lingering on his sword. "You insisted it would all be fine if you just put a spell over her, that she'd never spot any of the children! No danger!"

Merlin spluttered, "Unless they walk right up to her and offer a hand for shaking! Besides, you were the one who wanted to keep her around!"

"She had to stay somewhere!"

"Granted, but why here? But don't worry, Arthur. I'm sure it's fine."

Arthur saved his breath for running, but he would bawl Merlin out later, and they both knew it.

Merlin turned to his own worried thoughts. He, like Arthur, remembered the 'missing' part of the story. The day she lost her mind… and swore her revenge. No one paid her any attention, and she seemed to forget the vow herself, occasionally even thinking Arthur was still her brotherly companion. He just hoped she wouldn't remember it again today.

_A scream split the night air, and Merlin lifted his tired head from the ground, trying to locate its source. _

"_NO!"_

_There was a flurry of white—a small snowstorm? No, thought Merlin, shaking his injured head to clear it. It was a woman. _

_On the battlefield lay the bodies Morgana seemed to be interested in. She stepped right over Merlin, probably assuming that his bloody body was a corpse. _

"_NO!" she screamed again, falling to her knees beside the bodies of her loved ones… one small, one grown. They were dead, Merlin knew. _

_Morgana spun around, face tear-streaked, still screaming. That's when she spotted Merlin. _

_He stared at her, repulsed and fascinated by the look in her eyes. _

"_You!" she cried. "You killed them! You killed them!"_

_Merlin hadn't done it by himself, but he said nothing… The world was looking funny. One of his eyes could see clearly, the other's sight was obscured. Everything was like that. One hand was broken, one not. He had one friend and one foe on this battlefield… And he desperately hoped the friend showed up soon, as he was too weak to deal with Morgana. _

"_I'll kill you!" she declared, on her feet again, her white dress swirling about her white legs, a direct contrast to her dark looks. _

_Merlin couldn't stop her, not now. He needed sleep… Deep, white sleep, as beautiful as the sorceress herself…_

"_I'll kill you all! Arthur, you! All! You've taken everything from me! I'll kill your family and your loved ones! I'll destroy you!" Her hand stretched out. She would end his life now…_

_But that was okay, as long as he could sleep…_

"_Merlin!" That wasn't Morgana's voice; it was Arthur's, just in time. "Morgana!" called the blond man, rushing forward. His armor was bloodied, but he was walking. Which was more than you could say for Merlin…_

_Suddenly Arthur and a knight or two had Morgana in their arms, holding her back… or were they holding her up?_

_Merlin was so dizzy. _

_She struggled, fought, and then her head went up. She howled at the moon once, before her bright eyes, like two mad stars, landed on Merlin. "I'll kill you all!" But she burst into tears. _

She's crazy, _he knew. And then he passed out. _

Merlin finished reliving the memory from his younger self and shook it out of his head. Looking back, it wasn't the smartest thing to keep her around… But she was so pathetic most of the time, really not much trouble, that even Uther himself, had he still been king, would have balked at executing her. And no one else wanted her.

Now that there were children around, they had just been lucky to go so long without incident.

They were getting unlucky.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

Uther grabbed his twin's hand and gave it a tug, pulling him out of the way of the hurtling knife. The shining blade embedded itself into the wall. The children stared at it.

"Woah," breathed Uther. "That could've been your head."

Morgana shrieked madly and threw herself at the knife, yanking it out of the wall.

Tom screamed. "MOTHER!"

Uther took the lead, pulling his twin along as they tried to escape back to the stairs. "Come on!"

Tom was panicked. "She'll kill us! Oh, heavens, that could have been my head!"

"It still might be!"

Uther ducked behind a wall, trying desperately to remember the way to the stairs. It wasn't too complicated, but it was so dark! Tom was not cooperating. He was stumbling along, face as pale as it was possible for something so dark to get.

"Tom!" Uther snapped. "I don't want to be king of Camelot someday, so wake up!"

That got Tom's attention. If he was to be King someday, he needed to be able to keep his head.

"Right," he mumbled. "Where are we going?"

"Stairs."

"Wrong way, Uther. This way!" And they switched directions, Morgana right behind them, still screaming in fury.

Uther hollered as he felt a hot pain in his arm; her knife had brushed him. He stumbled, but Tom caught him, then turned and pushed a dusty old couch over into Morgana's path. That would distract her for all of two seconds.

They needed help. Now.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

Arthur heard the yelling first. "This way!" he called to Merlin, leaping to the last flight of stairs.

Merlin, unused to such physical exercise, puffed and gasped, but didn't slow. Two lives were at risk here.

"Morgana! Stop!" he found himself yelling, following at Arthur's heels. His legs were on fire.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

"These are most positively not the stairs, nitwit!"

"You lead us here!" cried poor Uther.

"Didn't!"

"She's coming!"

"We're at a dead end, Uther!"

"WE'RE GOING TO DIE!"

Uther covered his chubby face in his small hands and sank to the ground, clinging to the knowledge that all children have. If you can't see them, then they can't see you. Theoretically.

Tom knew this was all his fault, though he hated to admit it. Trying to be brave (_Father would want me to be brave, _he thought), he stood in front of Uther's crumpled form. Then he closed his eyes.

"_Morgana!"_

The voice startled the mad woman, and she faltered.

A blast of magic slammed into her, knocking her to her knees.

"Merlin!" she hollered, but it was Arthur she saw first, barreling past her to stand in front of his children.

"FATHER!" Neither twin knew which yelled that first, but they did know that suddenly the cold, dark castle seemed so much brighter.

Arthur faced Morgana and held up his sword. "Stay back."

She laughed and threw the knife at his heart. Another blast of magic knocked the knife the floor, well out of her reach. Morgana didn't give up yet. She abandoned the idea of attacking Arthur or the children and dived for Merlin, screaming like a banshee. She'd claw his eyes out if she had to.

Merlin, standing by the stairs, leaned back as when he saw her coming. His hand flew up, and he was faster than Morgana had been, all those many years ago…

"_Cysgu!"_

She was out before she hit the ground.

Arthur looked at the one-time-manservant, both breathing hard. "She's…?"

"Asleep. Probably the best sleep she's had in years, poor woman," said Merlin sadly.

"Merlin, we can't keep her around here anymore."

"I know."

"We need to find someplace secure. But comfortable. And no where around anyone she could hurt."

"I know, Arthur. I'll make it happen."

"You do that."

And then King Arthur in all his brawny glory, turned around and enveloped his shaking boys in a bear hug. For a moment, Tom thought he saw a tear glisten on his father's cheek. But it must have been a trick of the light, because everyone knew that kings did not cry.

"Father," said Tom quietly.

"Tom."

"It's all okay now?"

"Yes."

"And we're in big trouble?"

"Yes."

"Father?" said Uther, even more quietly.

"Uther."

"It was all Tom's fault. Really."

And at Tom's dirty look, Merlin began to laugh, his head back, his emotions finding an outlet in giggling. Tom and Uther didn't quite get the joke, but his laughter was less ferocious than their father's hug… so they laughed too.

Pretty soon even Arthur was chuckling.

And once the nervous laughter subsided, Uther said, "No really. It is."

Arthur just hugged him tighter, trying to get a hold on his emotions. He never wanted to let go.

"Boys?"

"Yes?" they both replied.

"Not a _word _to your mother; is that understood? Not ever."


End file.
